Trouble in River City
by Pineapple Moon
Summary: What should be an easy to sit through speech turns into a nightmare for Jess and Oliver as Paris goes off script, airing everyone's dirty laundry. Part 13


**This is so incredibly late and I have no excuse for that. I have the attention span of a goldfish and got distracted by Good Omens and Stranger Things 3. Everyone has Lecherizada thank for this part finally being finished and posted. Thank you for your kind comment and words of encouragement.**

**In the summer it's harder for me to write because normally the show This is us gives me tons of inspiration. It hits a lot of the same emotional beats that I'm aiming for, and when it's off for the summer writing becomes hard.**

**Title from Ya Got Trouble from the musical The Music Man. (Which fun fact, I'm pretty sure they filmed that movie on the same set as Gilmore Girls. I'm not certain, but if you watch the clip on youtube it looks a lot like the Stars Hollow set.)**

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The next few weeks seem to fly by together in a blur for Jess as he's busy with school and work. The only fun he got was when he was working at the Inn when the whole Doose clan showed up for the hockey semi-finals that his school somehow miraculously got into. It seems Taylor is the only looney one, the rest of the clan being shockingly normal. The game itself that he got dragged to was pretty boring. Rory, Lane, and Oliver had dragged him to the thing so they could cheer Dean on, but he ended up being the only one actually watching the damn thing. Rory and Lane were too worried about Lindsay being there, who was giving Rory the cold shoulder over the Miss Patty One-Woman show mishap. It seems when she found out Rory and Dean were hanging out at the thing, she got a little jealous, not liking that her boyfriend was hanging out with his ex-girlfriend. And then Oliver only got to spend a total of two minutes with him before running down to help Kirk out with all the hockey terms. Honestly, he would have liked to see Kirk get tackled in a fit of rage by Dean and the rest of the hockey team, but Oliver had to go 'be nice'.

To make it worse, since hockey was over, Kirk naturally had to find a new job. Unfortunately for the entire town, that job had to be postman. The only bright side is that the whole thing is temporary while Ralph, the regular postman, is out of town visiting his mother, who broke her hip. Kirk, being Kirk, decided that sorting the mail beforehand took the 'spontaneity' out of the job. That only meant that the rest of the town wasn't getting their mail on time. Rory's been flipping out since she's supposed to find out if she got into Harvard any day now. It's also making Luke extra grouchy, his Uncle growling at him to "Just get the damn mail at any costs, for the love of God." while he was on his way out to school this morning. Turns out, you can't pay your bills if you don't _have_ your bills, and this is the big shocker, it's kinda hard to run a diner if your power and water get shut off.

On his way back home from school, he spots Kirk across the town square, making a beeline for him. Kirk sees him and tries to make a run for it, but he was too slow, Jess already having him cornered at the gazebo.

"Give me mine and Luke's mail, Kirk."

Kirk clutches his mailbag closer, staring at the ground. "No. You're going to have to wait like everybody else."

Seriously? Out of all the times Kirk has to grow a backbone, it's now? He doesn't have time for this. "Just give me the bag and _I'll_ sort it then. C'mon, Kirk, Luke and I have bills we need to pay."

"No. Legally, I'm the only one trained to handle other people's mail."

"For God's sake, Kirk, it's not like I'm going to steal Babette's _Cat Fancy_ magazine, I'm a little more focused on the fact that I want running water at home."

"But-"

"How about this," Jess pinches the bridge of his nose. "Give me my mail, and the next time you come into the diner, I'll listen to whatever you have to say the entire time. I won't ignore you, scoff, or laugh. You'll have my full, undivided attention."

That gets Kirk's attention. "I don't know, that sounds an awful lot like a bribe. Part of my training said-"

"Did I not mention this offer has a time limit? A time limit that expires in three, two, on-"

"Okay! Fine, but you can't tell anyone about this. If the post office finds out-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just hurry up." Jess taps his foot impatiently as he watches Kirk pick out his mail one by one.

What feels like an hour later, Kirk finally finishes going through the bag, handing him a stack of mail. "Alright, here-"

"Fantastic." Jess says sarcastically, snatching the mail from him. Without another word, he turns on his heel, heading to the diner as he flips through the stack.

"You better keep up your end of the bargain!" Kirk calls out behind him. "Jess!"

Jess waves absent-mindedly that he heard, focusing on the envelope addressed to him.

The large envelope.

The large envelope that Rory has been obsessing over. The one everyone wishes they'll get, with the letter inside that starts out with the line, 'We are pleased to inform you…'.

Seeing more mail with similarly sized envelopes, he flips straight to them, finding them all addressed to him.

"Holy shit," He mutters, heart beating fast. Glancing up to see Luke through the windows with his back to him, Jess hastily takes his backpack off and stuffs the envelopes in. With the rest of their mail in hand, he swiftly enters the diner and dumps them on the counter in front of Luke. Without stopping, he heads straight for the stairs, almost making it before Luke blocks his path.

"Whoa, cool it. What's with the rush? You're supposed to help with lunch."

"Busy. I'll help with dinner instead. Or is working down here more important than my homework? Because if that's the case, I'll gladly-"

Luke holds up a hand cutting him off. "You know school comes first. I would just appreciate it if you would at least say hi or something."

Jess rolls his eyes. "Okay, whatever, hi. Can I go now?"

Luke takes a breath. "Fine, you may go. Be down here for the dinner rush, though. Don't think I won't come up and drag you down myself." Luke heads back over to the counter, clearing his path. "And, Jess,"

Jess sighs, pausing once more.

"Thank you for getting the mail." Luke smiles at him.

Feeling uncomfortable, Jess focuses on a spot behind Luke. "Yeah, well, my mail was in there too, so I had a bit of a vested interest in getting it."

Wanting to get away, Jess races upstairs. He shuts the door, then locks it as a last minute precausion. Now alone and without any wandering eyes, he digs through his bag and pulls out the four large envelopes, putting them side by side on the table. He bites his lip as he stares at them, feeling his heart about to beat out of his chest.

_Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown._

This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

He wasn't supposed to get in. He only applied to get Luke and everyone else off his back. The plan was that he would get the rejection letters, pretend to mope around for a few days for Luke's benefit, then move on with his life. He was going to get some minimum wage job, save up, then move out to some crappy apartment a couple years down the road. Maybe, and this is a hard maybe, take a few classes at the community college in Hartford to keep Luke satisfied.

_They weren't supposed to say yes._

He's not supposed to have options. People like him aren't supposed to have options. Rory, Paris, Oliver, even Dean, _they're_ supposed to be the ones with options.

He also knows he could never in a million _years_ be able to afford going to any of these schools. Sure, when Gran had cornered him about it he had said him and Luke would figure it out, but he can't ask that of Luke. Knowing Luke as well as he does, he would do whatever it took to pay for school. Cleaning out his savings, loans, even selling the diner. Luke would move heaven and Earth to make it happen. And for what? For _him?_ Some loser that never wanted to go in the first place and probably wouldn't even last a year?

Although, they did say yes. That has to mean something. He doesn't have the most steller school record on his side, his grades this year and his SAT scores being the only two things going for him. They must have seen _something_ if they looked past that and still said yes. It's not like he's from a rich family that had to have Daddy pay his way in. Richard _may_ have had some influence for Yale, but that would in no way explain Harvard, Brown, and Princeton.

Okay, he needs to calm down and make a plan before he gets too ahead of himself, starting with if he could in any way realistically pay for any of the schools. He knows there are scholarships he could apply for, it's not like he's the first broke kid in history to get into an expensive school. He could also look into student loans, but those are pretty dicey. The last thing he needs is a student loan floating over his head for the rest of his life just for some fantasy. He needs to go about this the same way he went about getting his car, do all the research and have a plan in place, then go to Luke.

God, just thinking like this is making him cringe. All these thoughts of research and planning, he's starting to sound like Rory. If he catches himself making a pro/con list, he's going to find the nearest building to fling himself off of.

Hearing the doorknob start to jiggle, he hastily tosses the four envelopes back into his bag and zips it shut for good measure. Luke's silhouette is through the frosted glass as he knocks instead.

Jess flings the door open, leaving Luke's hand in midair. "What?"

"Why did you have this door locked?" Luke asks instead.

Jess shrugs, not breaking eye contact. "Huh, was it? Must of been out of habit."

"You have a habit of locking the upstairs door?"

"Yup. You know, it's as they say, Uncle Luke, 'You're only as safe as you let yourself be'. Now, did you need anything, or are you just here to judge my safety concerns?"

Luke looks unconvinced, but drops the subject as he passes him to head for the safe in the corner. "I ran out of change." He pauses, looking at the empty table, then turns to him. "I thought you were doing your homework."

"I was. But then I realized I was missing some things and was about to head over to Andrews to do some research." Not a total lie, he thinks as he picks up his bag and lets it hang from one shoulder.

Luke studies him some more before shaking his head and continuing on to what he was originally doing. "Alright, just make sure you have your cell with you."

"Got it." Jess tries to make his escape, but gets stopped by Luke again.

"Hey, Jess, you feeling okay?"

Jess fights the urge to roll his eyes. "Yup, just dandy."

Now Jess has to resist fidgeting under Luke's gaze, feeling like Luke is seeing right through him.

"Okay, if you say so."

Not wanting to risk getting stopped again, Jess hightails it out of there for good. God, one look from Luke, and Jess feels like an eager to please puppy, ready to spill the beans at a single glance. He just has to remind himself that this is all for Luke's own good. He is not about to be the reason that Luke has to sell his beloved diner. He's an adult now, he can figure his own shit out.

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Luke makes his way downstairs at a slower pace, seeing Jess already on his way down the street outside. He sighs as he rounds the corner and spots Lorelai pouring her own cup of coffee again.

"How many times do I have to tell you, wait for me to serve you." He takes back the coffee pot, shooing her out from behind the counter.

Pouting, she takes a seat at the counter. "Jess said it was okay."

"Whose name is on the sign outside?" Luke starts putting away the change he got from upstairs.

"Yours." She says reluctantly, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Exactly. Mine. Meaning my instructions trump the eighteen-year-old's who isn't even here." Shifting his focus, he leans forward so they aren't too overheard. "How, um, how did Jess seem to you?"

"Meaning…?"

With a sigh, he rests his arms on the counter. "I don't know, I could be wrong, but he just seems off to me. He's been acting weird ever since he got home. He ran straight upstairs saying he has homework, then when I just went up he had the door locked, and once he opened it there was nothing on the table. Now he vamoosed out of here, saying he had to go get some books from Andrew's. I don't know, it's like I said, I could be wrong, but I just have this bad feeling in my gut he's hiding something from me."

Lorelai sobers up, knowing conversations about Jess are a serious thing in his book. "From everything you just told me, it sounds like he's just being a normal teenager. I totally don't mean to discredit your gut, I know from years of experience that the parental gut is one of the strongest tools in the tool belt, but I also know teens tend to just get in moods. Trust me, I wasn't the most forthcoming with my parents at eighteen."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Luke straightens out. He still has the bad feeling in his gut, but like Lorelai said, Jess is just acting like a normal teen. He should be happy, all he's been wanting is for Jess to stop behaving like an adult and more like the teen that he is. Still, he can't help but worry. "So," He holds up the ordering pad, pencil at the ready. "Are you going to want any food, or should I just serve you straight up coffee grounds?" She looks up from the menu with a grin. "No, that last one was not a real suggestion." She frowns, looking back down at the menu.

"I don't know, it might take me some time to look over this new menu. I'd be quicker if you hadn't changed it."

Luke tosses the ordering pad back down, rolling his eyes. "Ah, jeez. Are you ever going to let that go? I had the same menus for twenty years, it was time for a change." Before Lorelai has the chance to argue back with him, Nicole walks through the door. "Thank God, finally, someone sane."

Lorelai whips around, giving Nicole a polite smile. "Oh, hey, Nicole. How are you?"

Nicole smiles back, taking a seat next to her. "I'm good, thank you." Nicole sends a smile his way as he sets a coffee in front of her without being asked.

"Oh, shoot, I just remembered, I need to get back to the Inn. Luke, can you put this in a to-go cup?" Lorelai holds up her mug.

"Yeah, sure…" With a bewildered stare, he transfers the coffee for her. Putting a lid on, he hands it back to her. "Here."

She nods and smiles at Nicole one last time, taking the cup with a quick thanks. She gets her coat and purse on in record time, pausing in front of the door. "And Luke, I trust your gut. I'll keep an eye on Jess, maybe subtly see if Rory knows anything. If there's one thing I know for certain, if something's going on with Jess, then Rory will for sure know about it."

That's a weight off his chest for sure. "Thanks."

"No problem."

The door swings shut, letting Luke focus his attention back to Nicole. He leans across the counter, giving her a quick kiss. "Hey, so this is a surprise. I thought you had to work through lunch."

"I finished early, so I thought I'd come and see you. I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."

Luke snorts. "Who? With Lorelai? No, you weren't interrupting anything. Why would you think that?"

"I just know from experience at work that your guys' situation can be tricky. Growing up between two households can be tough, so I think it's great that the two of you stayed friends for Jess' benefit." She says off-handedly as she stirs some sugar into her coffee.

Jess' benefit? "Hold on, did I miss something? What situation? And how exactly does Jess factor into everything?" Did he have a stroke that no one thought to inform him of?

She pauses with the mug halfway to her mouth, setting it back down. "The co-parenting. Staying friends so he can have both his parents in his life." She says as if talking to a slow child.

Oh! She thinks- "Jess isn't hers. Or mine for that matter, at least technically. I mean, yeah, I think of Jess as mine, and legally he is after the adoption, but-" Great now he's rambling like Lorelai. "Jess is my nephew." He starts over. "He's my sister's son, but she's not what you would call the mother of the year, so she sent him to live with me after he turned seventeen. I don't know the first thing about kids, especially ones that were acting out like he was, so Lorelai's been helping."

"So you and her were never together?"

"Nope. Just friends."

"Oh." She takes a sip of her coffee, not looking pleased.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"No, if you have something to say, then say it."

Nicole sighs, setting down her mug. "The way you talk of her, all the stories and anecdotes, you two seem really close. Closer than friends normally are."

"We aren't _that_ close. No closer than anyone else in this town. It's a tight knit community, everyone knows everyone here, plus our kids are best friends. We need to get along for their sakes. I promise you, Lorelai and I are only friends, nothing more." As much as he wished there was more, there isn't on her side. The sooner he realizes that and moves on, the better.

"If you're sure…"

"Positive. I'm just the guy that serves her coffee."

Nicole relaxes, her worries seeming to be put to rest. "Alright, if you say so."

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Jess nods at Andrew on his way in, the man waving as he's on the phone. Finding his usual corner, he dumps his bag on the ground and bends down to pull the four envelopes out. Having glanced around earlier, he knows he's the only one besides Andrew in the place, and he can still hear the owner on the phone at the front desk. Making himself comfortable against the wall, he opens the envelopes, skipping to the chart that breaks down all the expenses. As expected, the tuition is by far the most expensive part, although the housing racks up a large chunk of change as well.

To make things easier on himself, he grabs one of his beat up spirals from his backpack, turning to an empty page. Figuring he can save some money by getting apartments off campus while sharing with others, he gets to work finding other ways he can cut corners to bring the bill down.

He loses track of time as he spreads out more, different books open all around him as he scribbles on what is becoming multiple sheets of paper.

"Wow, when Andrew tells us we can make ourselves at home, I don't think this is what he has in mind." Jess looks up to find Rory at the end of the aisle with a bemused expression. "What's with the beautiful mind thing you have going on here?"

"Nothing." He says quickly, hoping she would leave.

No such luck as she comes over to him, bending down to look at one of the books he has open. He braces himself, waiting for her to ultimately figure out what he's doing. It takes a second, but she gasps, head shooting up and a huge grin on her face. "Jess, this is-"

"Shut up." He snatches the book back from her, closing it with a snap. Before he has a chance to hide anything else, Rory grabs his notebook, flipping through it. He grabs that from her too. "Would you leave my stuff alone?"

"Jess, this is incredible." She folds her hands in her lap, focusing on him now. "Those are amazing schools. I knew you could do it, have you told anyone yet?"

He sends a glare her way. "No, so keep your voice down. It doesn't matter, I'm probably not going anyway. I've been doing the math all afternoon, there's no way I can afford it. Liz never bothered with a college fund and I can't ask Luke for something like this-"

"Jess, Jess, whoa, slow down." She cuts him off, holding her hands up. "You're pulling a Jackson, jumping straight to the price tag. Have you even taken a moment to let it sink in? You did it. You got in, all on your own. These are some of the hardest schools to get into and you did it. That in itself is an amazing accomplishment."

Jess feels the corners of his mouth tug into a smile as he soaks in her words. "I did, didn't I. God, imagine the look on that bitch of a sub's face I had in sixth grade. 'Disruption to the class' my ass, let's see _her_ get into even one of these schools, let alone all of them."

"That's the spirit!" She cheers. "And we'll figure the money situation out together. I have a list at home of all the different scholarships you can apply for, and help you find others. Did you know you can get one for being adopted?"

"Really?" That hadn't even crossed his mind. He's so used to living with Luke, he forgot that on paper, he is technically adopted.

"Yup. There's also one for growing up in a single parent household, and way more. The point is, don't be so quick to give up. After everything you've been through, you deserve this. Now come on, let's get this all cleaned up and move it to my place. I'm sure Andrew would appreciate having his aisle back."

Rory helps him put everything away as he calls Luke, letting him know he can't work the dinner shift either and is going to Rory's to get some help on his 'project'.

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Jess spent more time than he thought in the bookstore, finding it already dark out by the time him and Rory leave. He gets more and more uncomfortable on the way to Rory's, her not dropping the subject of him getting into Harvard, Yale, Brown, and Princeton.

"Alright, enough." He sighs. "What about you? Oliver mentioned over the phone that he got the 'Sorry, we found a better fit' note on his bicentennial speech. Have you heard back yet?"

"Yes. Headmaster Charleston called yesterday and said he chose mine."

He squints at her tone. "I thought you wanted this. Why does it sound like he called to tell you your cat died?"

It's Rory's turn to sigh as she unlocks the door and lets them in. "Because he didn't just choose mine, he also really liked Paris', so he's having us combine our speeches and deliver them together."

He dumps his bag on the table, Rory focused on pulling all his stuff out of it. Going straight to the fridge, he pulls out two sodas for them. "Huh. That's going to be interesting. How are things on the Paris front?" He takes a seat across from her, leaning back and putting his feet up on the empty chair next to him.

"Cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms. I'm due for a call with her tonight to get our speeches together for tomorrow."

"'Call'? Wouldn't it be easier to do something like that in person?"

Rory rolls her eyes. "My thoughts exactly. But to quote Paris, 'We don't need to sit together staring at each other.'." There's a knock at the door, Rory scoffing as she gets up to answer it. "Paris?" He hears from the front door. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to call. That was the plan."

"Well, it's a stupid plan." It sounds like Paris just let herself in, the door closing and yet her voice still loud and clear. At least she admitted that the over the phone plan was stupid. "We have to put two speeches together, rehearse, hone our timing. That can't be done effectively over the phone."

"It was your idea."

"Oh, like you fought me on it?"

"Of course I didn't fight you on it."

"Well, okay then." Paris barges into the kitchen then, freezing at the sight of him. "What are you doing here?"

"Physically, metaphorically…" He smirks, getting a kick at the different shades of purple that appear on her face.

"You know what, it doesn't matter." She glances at the table, rolling her eyes when she sees his acceptance letters. Shifting awkwardly, he sits up and stuffs all of them out of sight and back in his bag. "Of course you got into the big four. Behind your Danny Zuko act, you do actually have a decent grasp on the English language. In a shocking turn of events, that can be useful to us, so you're going to help. You're going to be our unbiased audience, read both our essays and tell us who hit each point best."

Jess blinks, glancing back at Rory, who's shaking her head and mouthing sorry to him. "Ma'am, yes, ma'am." He gives Paris a lazy salute.

Paris doesn't say another word, turning and heading into Rory's room to get set up. Jess and Rory share one last look before following themselves. Paris starts barking orders at them, Jess ignoring her now as he collapses on Rory's bed, picking up a random novel off her nightstand and flips through it. Rory and Paris sit on the other side of the bed, reading each other's speeches.

"Why did you use this font?" Paris complains.

"Because, I was on the crack." Rory snaps back.

Jess snorts at the wording, grabbing a pencil he had left behind his ear earlier to leave a footnote in her book. He listens as Paris keeps asking questions, Rory answering in the affirmative.

"Rory?"

"What, Paris?" Rory sighs.

"I slept with Jamie." Jess' pencil breaks mid note as his head shoots up, jaw wide open. Him and Rory both stare at Paris speechless. "Last night. After we talked."

"Was it something I said?"

"I went there to study, he lit a fire, and we did it." Jess sets the book to the side, sitting up slowly. Only Paris can make it sound like a simple list of the day's events. "What are your thoughts on that?"

"My thoughts?" Rory looks a tad paler with wide bambi eyes to match.

"Who am I kidding, why am I asking you? Jess, you're a member of the male species," Paris turns to him now. "What do you think about sex?"

"Nope. I'm not having this conversation with you." He makes a beeline for the kitchen, drinking half of his coke in one go. Paris doesn't follow, going back to bombarding Rory with questions again.

Unfortunately, Rory follows him out to the kitchen where Paris trails after her, bringing the conversation along with them. Now, he's not a prude, far from it in fact, but the last thing he needs is the mental image of Paris having sex. And right now she is painting a very vivid picture of everything leading up to 'the act' as she calls it.

Rory opens a water from the fridge, taking a few big gulps as Paris rambles on, then drags him back into her room with them. He tries to resist, but she tightens her grip on his arm. "You are not leaving me alone with her." She hisses.

"Listen, we are all teens with average hormone levels for our age, and I thought if we had some sort of debate over the topic, it could help me come to some reasonable conclusion about how I should be feeling right now."

Rory _so_ owes him for this later. He reluctantly sits at the head of the bed with her, Paris sitting at the foot of the bed and staring at them expectantly.

"Come on, either of you, talk. What do you guys think?"

Jess keeps his mouth shut, nudging for Rory to go. Paris is _her_ crazy friend after all. Maybe if he's quick enough, he could jump out the window…

"I-" Rory starts to say, hesitant.

"Are you pro?"

"Well-"

"Con?"

"Well-"

"Undecided?"

"Paris, just stop talking for one second and let me get my mind around this."

"Sorry, go ahead, focus." Paris pauses, letting Rory think. "What about you, you've been quiet." She turns to him.

"Because I would quite literally rather be anywhere else but here at the moment."

"Well too bad, because you're here, and I need help on this, so talk. You have done it before, right?"

Rory and Paris are both staring at him, making his face heat up with all the attention. He clears his throat, picking at a spot on his pants. "Yeah, a few times back in New York."

"Okay then! You have the data, so help me out here. Give me something."

In a panic, he blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. "You two, were, uh, safe right? You and Jamie used… protection?"

That's obviously not what she was looking for, since she rolls her eyes at the question. "Yes, it was a regular afterschool special."

"Rory, help."

"Oh, um, was he nice to you?" Rory jumps in.

"Yes, he was very nice to me."

"And the two of you had discussed this-"

"Well," Paris cuts in. "I don't know that we actually discussed it. It was just sort of implied."

"Implied?"

"Yes, implied. When you're dating a boy and you're together for a given amount of time, and you're not amish, then the eventual occurrence of intercourse is inevitable. I mean, wasn't it with you?"

"What?"

"With Dean."

Rory glances between him and Paris, tugging at the ends of her hair. "Um, no. I never did it with Dean."

"Really? Not once?"

Rory shakes her head. "Nope. It, uh, was just never the right time."

"Oh." Paris looks disappointed, then seems to remember that he's in the room. "What about you and Oliver? You two have been going out for a while now, and you obviously have the experience."

Jess gulps as he feels his mouth get very dry again. He clicks his tongue. "Uh, yep. Once."

Paris groans. "I need a third set of data. If it wasn't the time for Rory, but the time for you, then how can I know if it was time for me?"

Rory jumps in again, saving him. "Paris, some things just can't be analyzed."

The two look like they need a moment, so he leaps up, making his escape. "I, uh, need to go to the bathroom." He stands outside the room, listening as the two make up. It's about time, he wasn't sure how much longer he was going to last hearing Rory rant everyday about something Paris did.

Giving the two some privacy, he figures he should at the very least pretend to go to the bathroom like he said he was. He pauses on his way though, spotting a familiar purse on the table in the hallway.

"Hello, Mommy's home!" Lorelai calls from the back door. Interesting, since when does she enter from the back door? And somehow already have her purse in the house _before_ she got home?

"We're in here!" Rory yells from her room.

"We? Who's we? Oh, hey, Paris. I didn't know you were coming over tonight."

"It wasn't planned."

"Well, I brought pizza if you guys are hungry."

"I have to go take my retainer out."

Paris heads out of the room, passing him with a small nod. Rory mentions getting plates, Lorelai whispering something to her as she passes. Setting the pizza down in the kitchen, Lorelai comes out to the foyer, taking her coat off as she does.

"Oh, there you are. I thought I saw your stuff on the table. How you doin', babe?"

"Curious mostly." Lorelai hangs up her coat in the closet, giving him a confused look. "How were you able to buy the pizza without your purse? I know we go to Joe's a lot, but even I think a free pizza would be a little excessive." He holds the purse up, letting it hang by one finger. She doesn't bother denying anything, instead grabbing back her purse. "Are you going to tell Luke?"

"Depends. Are you being smart? Being safe, not lying to your doctor…"

"To quote Paris, 'It's been a regular afterschool special'." He's not sure what's worse, having this conversation with Paris and Rory, or with Lorelai. With Liz it was somehow easier. It was like there was no pressure on what she thought. He's not sure what he would do if Lorelai was, as Paris put it, 'con'.

Lorelai nods with a small gulp. "Okay. You're old enough to make your own decisions in life, I trust your judgement. Just know, if anything _does_ come up, for you or Oliver, either of you can come to Luke or I. We both just want you to be…"

"Safe?" He answers her with a grin. "Don't worry, it's not like you have to worry about either of us getting pregnant."

Lorelai cracks a smile at his attempt at humor. "Alright, smarty pants." She brushes his hair back, kissing him on the head, much to his chagrin. Rory must have talked to her about what she overheard him say about not belonging, because Lorelai has been way more open with her affection toward him ever since that one failed dinner. "Don't get cocky now." She warns.

He smirks, not able to resist. "Is that your idea of a joke?"

She realizes her wording, messing up his hair with a low growl. "Brat." She stops as soon as he bats her away, making her way to the kitchen and complaining about how she needs to wash her hand for the next ten minutes to get all the product that he uses off.

There's a scoff behind him and he turns to see Paris shaking her head as she walks down the stairs. "Mama's boy." She mutters as she passes.

Not in the mood to argue with her, he shrugs her comment off. He's been called a lot worse in the past anyway.

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As promised, Jess tags along to watch Rory and Paris deliver their speech. This time he had enough forethought to wear something a little nicer so he doesn't stick out as bad as he did at the beginning of the year. Luke had wanted to come too, but wasn't able to get away from the diner. He did say he would try and catch a glimpse of it on tv though, having the tv upstairs already set to the right channel.

Of course with Rory and her annoying need to be super early to things, they end up being some of the first people to arrive. Over the next thirty minutes, the auditorium slowly starts to fill up and the tv crew finish setting up all the lighting and cameras.

"Do you see her? She should have been here by now." Rory cranes her neck, alternating between looking into the auditorium and down the hall.

"Relax, Paris will be here. Not everybody likes to be stupidly early to things." Jess assures her from his perch against the wall.

"Jess is right, hon. There's a better chance of us seeing a pig fly than Paris being late to something. I'm pretty sure it's against her programming." Lorelai rubs Rory's back.

Rory sighs, not looking much better. "Yeah, you're right. But I would feel better if she were here already, I'm nervous enough as it is being on live television."

"Please, it's c-span. There are more people in the auditorium than are tuning in to that channel." Jess tries to help calm her down.

Rory's eyes widen. "What? But that's a lot of people in that room. So most of my audience are people that I can see too? What if they hate my speech? I'll be able to see it on their face and that will throw me off, so then even more people will hate it… This was a bad idea, I should have never-"

"Whoa, slow down, sweets. Everyone is going to love you and your speech." Lorelai turns a glare on him. "Not helping." She mouths, causing him to shrug and hold his hands up. How was he supposed to know that would make her freak out _more._ "Jess, could you go get us some coffee?" She tells him more than asks.

With a roll of his eyes, he pushes off the wall. "Yeah, sure, I'd love to. Anything else while I'm at it? Maybe polish your shoes?"

"Just remember, you offered. Now scoot, that coffee isn't going to walk itself here."

Finding the classroom they're using as a coffee station isn't too hard, he just follows the scent. As he's pouring a cup for Lorelai, Oliver slides up next to him and starts to do the same. He's closer than strictly necessary, but not so much that it looks out of the ordinary.

"Sibling or girlfriend?" He asks, causing Jess to chuckle, before he clears his throat and plays along.

"Excuse me?"

"Spending a Friday night at a stuffy school function isn't anyone's idea of a good time, so the question remains, sibling or girlfriend?"

"Great deduction, Sherlock. Neither." He answers with a smirk.

"Oh. Boyfriend?"

"I'm just here for my friend. My boyfriend being here is just a bonus." Oliver chuckles, breaking character. "I'd ask if you come here often, but I know for a fact that you hate coffee and how jittery it makes you, so my new question is _why_ are you getting coffee?"

Oliver sighs, both of them stepping out of the way so they aren't blocking the table. "My Dad is here. He asked me to get him some."

"For real?" Jess takes both of their cups, setting them to the side and leading Oliver to a desk so they can sit on it. "Why? You said he never comes to these things."

"He hasn't. And he wasn't planning on it, but then he heard that a ton of university professors are going to be here…"

"So he figured he should play nice with your future professors." Jess finishes with a sigh.

"God, why does he always have to interfere? The plan was we would sit through this thing and then head out to dinner with Lorelai and Rory to celebrate."

"Whoa, hey, take a breath." Jess glances up, making sure the only two people in the room have their backs to them before squeezing Oliver's hand. "Him being here doesn't change anything. We can still go do something afterwards, just tell him you had plans to meet up with friends. If there's anything I've learned about high society, it's that it's rude to cancel plans last minute."

Oliver thinks about it for a second. "He'll want to meet you. Rory and Lorelai too."

Jess flashes him a smile. "I guess I'm meeting the 'rents tonight. Or 'rent in this case. It is just your dad right? Because if your mom's here too, then I actually have somewhere to be-" He pretends to start leaving, letting Oliver drag him back by the crook of his arm.

"Thank you. I know you were planning on telling Richard about us, and this kind of throws a wrench in that plan. I'm sorry."

Jess shrugs. "Don't worry, he's gone this long without knowing, one more week isn't gonna hurt."

"Still. Thank you."

"No problem."

They get disrupted as Lorelai comes barging in, pausing when she almost collides with one of the guys that was getting coffee. "Oh! Um, hi."

"Hey." He answers back sounding painfully awkward.

Jess leans in so they aren't overheard. "What's the story there?"

"That's Mr. Medina." He whispers back.

"Wait, as in Max Medina, the guy Lorelai was going to marry?"

"Yup. He's been gone for a while though, on loan to Stanford I think. He must have come back to hear the speech."

They drop their conversation as Lorelai spots them and heads over, Max following after. "There you are, kid. I was wondering if you were making the coffee from scratch. You know if I want to stay awake for this thing I need the stuff stat. Hi Oliver."

Oliver smiles, giving her a small wave, while Jess wordlessly hands her the coffee he had poured for her before he got distracted.

"Thanks. Oh!" She seems to remember that Max is with her. "Max, this is Jess. Jess, Max. He's, uh, my ex-fiance."

"Huh."

Max holds out his hand to shake, Jess staring at it until he gets the message and clears his throat, bringing his hand back to himself. Oliver subtly kicks him for that.

"So…" Lorelai says louder than necessary. "My dad just arrived and was asking about you. Why don't you go look for him, give him a break from Rory's nervous ramblings."

"Sure." He jumps down, brushing past Oliver and making eye contact as a silent apology, and heads out.

"And I should get going too, my dad is probably wondering where I am. It was nice seeing you again Mr. Medina." Jess pauses at the doorway, waiting for Oliver as he jumps down with his cup and gives the two adults a wave.

"It was nice seeing you as well, Oliver. Say hello to your father for me."

Oliver nods, catching up to Jess and the two of them exit together.

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Lorelai gives Max a forced smile after Jess and Oliver leave, not realizing how hard it would be to be alone in a room with Max again. Running into each other at the drug store is one thing, but now that there aren't any distractions around all her old feelings that she thought were gone are springing back up again.

"I'm sorry about Jess. He's not normally like that. Well, actually he's kind of known for his monosyllabic answers, but he's usually a little more polite about it."

Max chuckles. "It's quite alright. I think he was just making it clear whose side he's on."

"Still, I'll have a talk with him later, maybe give him a refresher course on manners. Ex-fiance or not, he still has no right to treat you like that."

"I'm telling you, it's fine. And as for the ex part, it's probably for the best that we didn't get married, or it would have been pretty awkward to find myself the stepfather of _two_ teens instead of one."

It's Lorelai's turn to chuckle as she tries to imagine that. "Please, we only let him out once a year, you'd barely notice him." She jokes. "But, no, in all seriousness, Jess is Luke's nephew. Him and Rory are practically attached at the hip nowadays, so he's around a lot."

"Sounds like Rory's not the only one that got attached. He seems pretty protective of you."

Lorelai nods. She forgot how insightful Max could be. "Yeah, he just sort of weaseled his way in, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Despite bad first impressions, he is a good kid."

"I believe it. You wouldn't let him near Rory otherwise."

Lorelai sighs, wishing it could stay like this, but it's eating her up inside not talking about what happened between them. "Look, Max, we should really talk about the ginormous pink elephant in the room."

"Lorelai, you really don't-"

"Yes, I do. And please, I've had this whole speech planned in my head for in case I ever saw you, and now that you're here, in front of me, I just need to let it out. Please." She bites her lip, fidgeting in place.

"Okay." Max says softly, perching against a desk.

"So, to start off, I always meant to call, but I'm not always good at calling when a call is necessary, and then, you know, if you don't call for a while it gets harder to call, and then after a while it feels like it's too late to call, so you don't, although you always know you should've called, and I should've called."

"Are you done?"

"Yeah." She answers hesitantly.

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. I never really explained what happened."

Max shrugs. "You didn't marry me." He says it so off hand, it only makes Lorelai feel worse inside.

"Yes, I know, but I never really explained why. I just… didn't."

"You didn't love me."

"I don't think I didn't love you. I think… I think I was not ready to get married."

"Because you didn't love me."

Why does he keep saying that? And so calmly? She was horrible. He should be mad, demanding an explanation, not shrugging and forgiving her. "No, I really don't think that was it. Sometimes the person you love is not the person you're ready to live with forever. And I'm not saying this is right-"

"Lorelai, listen to me." Max cuts in. "I appreciate this, I really do, but there's no need for it. I'm really okay."

"Oh! N-no, I didn't mean- I know you're okay. No, I'm sure you're okay. I'm not saying this because you don't look okay. You look great. Really great…" She trails off, realizing how that sounds. "Although, I'm not saying this because you look really great, although you do." She takes a breath. "Did you join a gym in California?"

Max cracks a smile at her rambling. "Lorelai, look, I've always wanted to teach at a university like Stanford. And finally the opportunity came up. I went, and it was wonderful. And frankly, if we'd been getting married, I wouldn't have been able to take it."

"You're welcome." Lorelai kicks herself moments after she says that. 'Hey, man, you're welcome for leaving you at the altar without so much as a note. Cowabunga, dude.'

"Being away gave me time to think. I thought, and now I'm fine."

"It's just, we never had any closure."

"Life's not really about closure, is it?"

"No, I guess not. So, you're okay?" She knows she's starting to sound like a broken record, but she really wants to be sure.

"I'm okay. I'm over it."

"Sure?"

"I am completely sure."

"Well, then, boy don't I feel stupid."

"You are many things, but stupid isn't one of them."

She smiles, glad they could clear the air. "Maybe I should take a page out of Jess' book, try the not talking thing. It would sure save me from embarrassing moments like this."

Max shakes his head. "Nah, it's part of your charm. You wouldn't be Lorelai Gilmore without it. And speaking of Jess, him and Oliver seemed pretty close. Was I misreading anything, or…"

"Ah, nope. You, uh, read things perfectly. They just, uh, are keeping things on the down low, for the time being, so…"

"Say no more, I understand completely. There's nothing quite like it, your first big teenage romance. It's a rush."

"Trust me, I know that rush. Rory wouldn't be here otherwise." She jokes again, wincing afterwards. "Sorry, that was too far. Listen, I should, um…" She points at the door.

"Oh, yeah, me too. I better get back. Tell Rory good luck for me."

Lorelai swallows a lump in her throat, forcing one last smile. "'Kay." She lets the smile drop from her face as soon as he's gone, sighing. She really does know how to pick them.

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Rory is right where Jess last saw her, still no Paris in sight. Oliver notices Paris is missing as well, sharing a worrying look with him. Rory spots them, excusing herself from Richard and running over.

"Have you seen Paris? This is about to start."

Jess shakes his head regrettably. "Sorry."

Rory makes a whining noise in the back of her throat, clutching her paper.

Richard comes over, resting his hand on her back. "Don't worry, everything will be alright." Rory nods, smoothing out the edges of her speech. "Jess, how are you this evening? Faring better I hope."

"Helps I'm not the one delivering a speech." Rory looks up at him with wide eyes. "Nope, don't even think about it." He shuts down that line of thought real quick.

Richard pats her on the back one last time before letting his hand drop. "And who is your friend here?" He asks Jess.

He opens his mouth to answer when he gets interrupted by a louder voice. "Oliver, where have you been? When you tell someone you'll be right back, it's rude to leave them longer than necessary." A stern looking man approaches, causing Oliver to tense up.

"I'm sorry, Dad. We got a little side-tracked." Oliver hands over the cup of coffee.

Oliver's dad squints, taking the cup but not drinking any of it. "'We?' Who's 'we'?"

Before Jess has a chance to say anything, Richard cuts in. "Luther, I didn't know you were in the States again. How long has it been, five, six years?" He holds out his hand to shake, which Luther does readily.

"About that, yes. How's Emily?"

"Oh, you know, scaring the maids left and right. The last one only lasted the day before she was fleeing in tears."

They both chuckle, while Jess and Oliver exchange a look. The only one that looks even more out of place is Rory, who's still subtly craning her neck looking for Paris. "Yes, that sounds like Emily, an unstoppable force that one. You'd think they'd send sturdier help after all this time."

"One could only dream. So, this must be Oliver. I don't believe we've had the chance to meet."

Oliver swallows. "Um, no, sir. We haven't. It's nice to meet you." He holds his hand out stiffly like he had when he first met Emily. This time Jess doesn't laugh at him, himself being in the same awkward position of meeting Luther.

Richard smiles, shaking his hand. "And I you. Jess, you didn't mention you were friends with Luther's boy."

"Must've slipped my mind."

Richard carries on as if he never spoke. "Luther, I'd like you to meet my grandchildren, Jess and Rory."

Luther looks puzzled. "I thought Lorelai only had the one child."

"Yes, Rory, but we all consider Jess as part of the family as well. Where Rory took after Christopher in many ways, Jess here is Lorelai through and through."

Luther shakes Rory's hand, then turns to him, holding onto his hand a bit tighter. "Hopefully not _too_ much like Lorelai, I seem to remember her getting in trouble a time or two over the years."

Jess keeps a straight face, not taking the thinly veiled threat lightly. "I don't have so much as a parking ticket on my record. Squeaky clean."

"Good. Let's see you keep to that." Luther squeezes his hand one last time before dropping it.

"Richard, Luther, I wasn't aware you two were coming." An older guy Jess vaguely recognizes from the beginning of the year approaches, the three adults exchanging handshakes. They continue chatting, the attention off Jess and Oliver, but unfortunately still on Rory.

"Pretty sure your dad hates me." Jess whispers to Oliver.

"No. No, of course not. He just doesn't know you."

"Yeah, well, he's not a big fan of Lorelai's, and Richard practically made it sound like I'm her carbon copy."

Oliver gives him a smile, starting to reach out before remembering where he is and quickly taking his hand away. "Just give it time."

"Oliver, let's go." Luther heads back into the auditorium, not waiting for Oliver.

"Yes, sir." Oliver nods goodbye, tailing after his dad.

Jess watches him go, barely listening as Richard gives Rory some last minute advice. Oliver glances back on the way to his seat, Jess giving him a little wave that causes him to blush and duck his head.

"Hello, Earth to Jess." Lorelai waves her hand in his face. "Anyone home?"

Jess smacks her hand out of his face, embarrassed he got caught staring.

"If you're done ogling, Paris is here. We have to go find our seats." Lorelai teases, pulling him along.

"It's about-" Jess does a double take. "The hell happened to her? She sick?" Paris is in an oversized sweater and sweats, looking like she just rolled out of bed.

"No idea, but for Rory's sake let's hope she has a damn good reason."

Lorelai leads him over to where Richard was already sitting, Oliver and his father behind them. Oliver sees the state of Paris and sends him a questioning look, which he responds with a shrug. One thing's for certain, this is going to be one interesting speech.

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Jess half listens as the headmaster gives an opening speech, keeping an eye on Paris and Rory in the front row. Him and Rory just saw Paris yesterday, he has no idea what could have happened in the last twenty-four hours that would cause this much of a radical change in her. He's never seen her with so much as a hair out of place, let alone the rat's nest she has going on.

"-Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Paris Geller and Rory Gilmore."

Jess claps along with everyone else as the two get up on stage and behind a podium each. There's an awkward silence as Rory waits for Paris to begin. When they were practising yesterday, Paris had _insisted_ on going first, saying she's the better speaker and you should always start out strong. When it becomes obvious that Paris is just going to continue her impression of a statue, Rory starts the speech herself, saying some quote about education.

This happens two more times, Rory glancing back and pausing every time, just in case Paris decides to join in. Keeping her rhythm going, Rory continues on to her opening paragraph, once again pausing at the end and glancing at Paris.

Taking a deep breath, Paris begins to speak, only for Jess to quickly realize none of what she's saying is what she practised last night. "You know, it's funny. Me standing here before you right now. I've thought of nothing else for four years, but this school. "

Lorelai notices his and Rory's confused looks, leaning over to him. "What's going on? Is this part of the speech?"

"Nope." He whispers back. "Paris is going completely off script. I have a feeling this is headed south, like O'Connor ripping up a picture of the Pope live on SNL south."

Paris continues, growing more frantic as she goes on. "This big, important school with all its history and tradition and really super teachers. And I dedicated myself to it completely… heart and soul… believing in its power. Believing in its ability to get me where I needed to go - Harvard."

"Ah, shit, I think I know where this is headed. Should I…?" Jess whispers to Lorelai.

Lorelai can't tear her eyes away. "No, uh, just- just stay here. No reason to make a bigger scene than it already is. Rory will cut in if it goes too far."

The two go back to watch Paris, Jess can't help but think this is more like watching a train wreck in slow motion. "I thought of nothing else. Many of you out there can attest to that fact. I was on my way, and nothing could stop me. And here's the really funny thing. After four years of slaving away, I go home today and find this." Her hands shake as she holds up a crumpled envelope. Crap, it is what he thought. "I'm not going to Harvard! I got the tiny envelope, the one that reads, 'Sorry, Paris, we're not interested. Try again next year. Love, Harvard.'!" She runs a hand through her hair. "A-and the thing that's _really _funny here is, who in the world deserves to go to Harvard more than _me?!_ Have you _seen_ how hard I've worked over these past four years?! I mean, can anyone here believe that I'm not going to Harvard?! I can't! I'm not going to Harvard! I am not going to Harvard! I had _sex,_ but I'm not going to Harvard!"

Everyone in the audience gasps, looks of shock and disgust all around.

"Okay!" Rory snaps out her silence first, trying to get Paris to stop.

"Can I now-" He starts to ask Lorelai.

"Yeah, G-go, go!" Lorelai pats his arm, keeping her eyes on stage.

Not having to be told twice, Jess leaps from his seat and rushes to the stage to help Rory. Paris keeps ranting, even as Rory yells over her, thanking the audience and wishing them goodnight.

"I'm being punished! I've had sex, so now I'm not going to Harvard!"

Bypassing the stairs, Jess hops right up, grabbing Paris by one side and Rory grabbing her other.

"Oh, and wait until you guys hear this!" Paris struggles against them, keeping a tight grip on the podium. "Jess, here, he's had sex with his boyfriend Oliver, and yet he got into the top four ivy league schools _including_ Harvard! But he's a guy, so our society rewards the men for having sex!"

Jess freezes, feeling his cheeks burn up as he glances out and sees everyone's attention split between him and Oliver, who also has wide eyes and a bright red face.

"Don't worry, Oliver, I'm sure you're getting your acceptance letter any day now! The two of you will have a great time sexing it up at Harvard!"

Snapping out of the daze he was in, Oliver stands and runs out of the room, his father close on his tail.

"Shit, wa-" Stuck between chasing after him and helping Rory with a still rambling Paris, Jess curses again as he picks the latter. "Shut up and get off the stage!" He hisses, pushing her forward none too gently.

"Paris, come on!" Rory growls herself, pulling her along.

"Pack your chastity belt, Gilmore! You're going to Harvard!" Paris says as a parting, Jess and Rory both able to finally get her backstage.

"You have her?" He asks, wanting to go find Oliver.

"Yeah, go!" Rory sends him off, leading a more willing Paris to take a seat on a set of stairs.

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Heart pounding, Jess runs outside to find Luther marching Oliver to their car. Hearing his footsteps, Luther stops abruptly, turning and sending a glare his way. "Oliver, go to the car this second."

Oliver glances between him and his father. "But-"

"Right now!"

Jess motions for him to go, not wanting him to get in any more trouble than he already clearly is. Taking a deep breath, he nods, but continues to stand there. Seeming to make up his mind, he runs forward and tackles Jess in a hug. He feels tears wet his neck from where Oliver buried his face, Jess ignores Luther's protests and wraps his arms around him, planting a kiss on top of his head.

"I promise, everything will be fine." He whispers, running a hand through his hair. "For now you should listen and go with him."

Oliver holds him tighter and shakes his head. "I wanna stay with you. We were supposed to get pizza."

"I know, and we will another day."

Oliver nods, pulling his head back and sniffling. "I love you." Jess is stunned, letting Oliver kiss him and save him from having to say anything back. It's not like he doesn't love him, quite the opposite in fact, but he's always been more actions than words. The only two people he's ever said those three words to are Liz and Luke, and it's been over ten years since he's said them to Liz. Luckily Oliver understands this, not expecting anything in return.

"You should go." He whispers reluctantly, noticing Luther on his way over.

"Whatever he says to you, don't listen. Don't make this any worse than it already is."

Jess takes his face in his hands, wiping his tears with his thumbs. "Don't worry, I have thick skin." He gives him a chaste kiss. "I'll talk to you soon."

Oliver doesn't have a chance to answer as his father rips him from his arms and gives him a small shove in the direction of the car. "Get in the car!" He hisses.

Jess is almost proud of the dirty look Oliver sends his father's way. Wiping the last of his tears from his eyes, he turns and stomps to the car, a loud echo of the car door slamming shut the only sound in the area beside Jess' heavy breathing as his temper quickly rises.

Luther spins around to him, shoving a finger in his face. "You will stay away from my son."

Jess scoffs. "A little late for that, don't you think? What are you going to do, lock him in his room for the rest of his life?"

"If that's what it takes, then so be it. Soon enough he'll come to his senses and realize there is no place in his life for a punk like you."

"'His life?'" Jess lets out a wry laugh. "You have no idea about his life! You think he's this- this piece of clay that you can mold however you want, but you're wrong! He's his own person who _chose_ to be with me, which is more than can be said about you-" Jess gets cut off from a sharp sting across his cheek, a loud slap slices through the air. He freezes, more in shock than anything else.

"I will not be spoken to in that matter, you little-"

"Hey!"

Jess snaps out of the fog he was in, watching in fascination as Richard comes to stand between him and Luther, grabbing Luther's wrist and getting in his face. He looks _pissed._ Jess has never seen him angry before, hell, he didn't even think he was capable of it.

"If you _ever_ lay a hand on him again, you and I are going to be having a much worse conversation. Do you understand me?!"

Luther snatches his hand back, holding his wrist and sneering. "You were right, Richard, he is like Lorelai, right down to being a little tramp that can't keep it in his pants-"

Richard grabs the labels of his shirt, shaking him. "I will not stand here and let you talk about my family that way! Now I suggest you leave, Luther, before this gets even more heated than it already is."

Richard gives him a little shove, Luther stumbling to keep his balance. He looks like he wants to say something, but decides against it and shakes his head. "Harvard must have had some quota to fill, to let some charity case like you in." He ends up saying in parting.

Richard doesn't turn to him until the car disappears from view.

"Are you alright?" He asks him, his voice much calmer than it was only a minute ago. The soft tone makes him almost want to just break down, here and now. Almost.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Jess nods, his mask of indifference already up. "I'm fine. Sticks and stones, and all that."

"Speaking of," Richard reaches out, and with Jess' adrenaline still running high, he flinches without meaning to. It's stupid, he knows Richard would never hurt him, but that dumb fight or flight kicks in at the worst of times for him. Even though it was a small flinch, it must have still been noticeable because Richard stops and brings his hand back down, keeping both of them in view. Not wanting to call attention to what just happened, Richard continues on. "It doesn't look like that's going to leave a bruise. That's good, wouldn't want to send you home to Luke looking black and blue."

"He would certainly be wondering what was happening at these private school events."

After they both chuckle slightly, they fall into silence, neither of them big talkers. Luckily, the school starts emptying out, giving them a good distraction. Most of the people are not so subtly staring at Jess and whispering, making him shift uncomfortably. Richard notices this, wordlessly leading him to a bench out of the way to sit as they wait for Lorelai and Rory. Better out here than having to go back in and face all those people.

Jess expects Richard to head off to his car now that everything has calmed down, but he surprises him again by sitting down next to him on the bench, back straight and hands folded neatly in his lap.

Jess wraps his arms around himself tightly, hoping Lorelai grabs his coat for him. The very last thing he wants to do is go back in and get it. "You, uh, can head out. I don't need anyone keeping me company." The lie slips off his tongue easily, him not wanting to be an inconvenience to Richard, even though sitting alone on a bench is the last thing he wants to do right now. It's been a while since any adult has hit him with any real heat behind it, leaving him feeling jittery and anxious.

Either his lie wasn't very convincing or Richard is way more perceptive than he thought, because he just shakes his head, looking up at the sky. "Tonight is such a nice, clear night. I think I'd rather sit out and enjoy it, if it's alright with you of course."

Jess shrugs, keeping his gaze focused on his nails and trying to put as much indifference in his voice as he can muster. "It's a free country, do what you want."

Richard lets out a sigh, relaxing more against the bench. "I think I will then." He says softly.

Jess feels himself breathing easier, glad Richard is staying with him.

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The ride back to Stars Hollow is silent, which Jess appreciates. He's not the most talkative on a good day, trying to make small talk now would just be unbearable for everyone involved. He just sits in the back of the jeep, buries himself in his jacket that Lorelai had grabbed for him, and watches the world pass by outside.

When they reach the diner, the lights are off and all the chairs are up on the tables. The lights are on upstairs in the apartment though, meaning Luke is up waiting for him. Great, he's not really in the mood for the inevitable 'how was it?' questions that are surely on the tip of his uncle's tongue.

With a wave goodbye, he heads into the unlocked diner, locking the door behind him. As expected, Luke's lounging on the couch with a beer, watching some highlights from a game that was on earlier. The second he walks through the door though, Luke turns off the tv and sits up straight, setting his mostly full beer on the coffee table.

A coffee table that had his four acceptance letters.

Ah, shit. He hid those well too, meaning if Luke knows about them, then that means he saw the C-span with Paris' speech.

"I'm tired, it's been a long ass day. Can we skip all this and deal with it tomorrow?" Jess offers, hanging up his jacket and emptying his pockets onto the top of his dresser.

"Sorry, bud, no bueno. Why didn't you tell me about this?" He sweeps his arm at the letters.

Jess sighs, slamming his dresser drawer a little harder than necessary. "Because, I don't know if I'm even gonna go."

"What?! Jess, there's no question, you have to go."

"Is that right? And how exactly? Is there a magical money fairy that's gonna drop the cash I need in my lap that I don't know about? If you were so busy snooping through my stuff, then you must have seen the price tag associated with places like that." Jess can't help but let the irritation leak through his voice. He's had a bad night, so sue him. "It's not like I fuckin' belong there in the first place." He mumbles the last part with a scoff and a shake of his head.

Whatever Luke was about to say is forgotten as he snaps his mouth shut, turning his head to the side. "Don't belong? What do you mean, not belong? Jess, you're the smartest person I know, these acceptance letters are proof of that. What makes you think you belong there any less than all of the other people that got accepted?"

"Because I'm a loser!" Jess finally snaps. "I'm part of the pity cases they _have_ to accept! The charity cases they take to meet their quota!"

Luke's taken back by his outbursts. "Where is this coming from? Did someone say something to you?"

"No, no one said anything." Jess lets out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know why I said that, I'm just tired. Can we please do this tomorrow after I've had some sleep?"

He must really look as bad as he feels, because even though Luke looks like he wants to keep pressing the issue, he only nods. "Yeah, alright. But we are talking about all of this tomorrow, believe you me. Got it?" Jess nods, grabbing his pjs where he tossed them on his bed and heads for the bathroom. "And Jess?" He pauses, turning to Luke. "I should have said this first, but I am so incredibly proud of you. Whatever you choose to do next, I'll support you and be there every step of the way."

Jess bites his lip, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Thanks."

Luke smiles and ruffles his hair like he's some six year old. It should bother him, but he finds himself relaxing instead, leaning forward and pulling Luke into a hug. Luke makes a noise of surprise and freezes, but gets over it quickly and wraps his arms around him in a tight grip.

This is what he needed. All the names Luther had called him earlier like tramp and charity case just melt away as he buries himself into Luke's shoulder. A small sob escapes him and it's like a flood gate opens up.

"Hey, hey, you're alright. I got you, kiddo, it's okay. It's okay." Luke rubs his back, his other hand coming up and running through his hair. "You're okay, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." Luke continues to hold him, repeating the same things over and over until he's completely drained. At some point Luke moves them to the couch, still holding him as he drifts off to sleep.


End file.
